A Wide Gate for Zelli
A cloth dragon leaves a dusty attic trunk, but his wide wings will not fit through a pretend castle's gate. Amara finds a way to give him room and a welcoming new role.
Play the quiz as a gameZelli was a cloth dragon with wide green wings. He sat in a dusty attic trunk beside a tiny sock. Once, children had carried him on grand trips around the house. Now the trunk stayed shut. Zelli had nowhere to go.
One Saturday, Amara and her dad opened the trunk. "A dragon!" Amara said. Dad carried the trunk downstairs. Amara brushed Zelli clean. Then she showed him a pretend castle made of chairs and a blanket. Cushions formed its gate.
Amara tried to carry Zelli through the gate. His wings bumped both cushions. She turned him sideways, but his long tail caught. "The entrance is too narrow," she said. Zelli waited outside while she thought.
"I could fold your wings," Amara said. She began to tuck one down, then stopped. "But a dragon needs room to spread out!" She slid the cushions farther apart. Now the gate was wide enough for wings and tail.
Amara carried Zelli through the open gate. She set him on a purple pillow beside the castle wall. "You can greet our guests," she told him. Zelli faced a line of stuffed animals. His wings stretched out, ready to welcome them.
Later, Amara drew a picture of Zelli beside his old trunk and another of him inside the castle. The heading was "Zelli's Journey." Under the pictures, her caption said, "From a quiet trunk to a busy castle." Zelli would not be waiting in the attic tonight.